Democrats, Doherty spar on the Bush tax cuts

The state Democratic Party has sent out a series of news releases criticizing Republican congressional candidate Brendan Doherty over the Bush tax cuts. The GOP candidate’s camp responds by saying that Doherty favors even broader cuts.

“He wants to extend the Bush tax cuts into next year – all of them – so that Congress can take up comprehensive tax reform and really address the issue to make the tax code fairer, less complex, and more pro-growth.”

Prior says Doherty “doesn’t want to see marginal [tax] rates raised, but he’s not opposed to raising revenue through closing loopholes and preferential deductions; Which is why he didn’t sign the Grover Norquist [anti-] tax pledge.”

Here’s part of the Democratic critique, via a statement from spokesman Bill Fischer:

“In his latest position, Mr. Doherty advocated that the Bush tax cuts should be extended to millionaires. He had to know this would kill the Senate measure extending tax breaks for 98 percent of Americans,” said Fischer. “The question remains, how would Mr. Doherty have voted yesterday? Would he have voted against the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, which Representatives Langevin and Cicilline voted for, and Senator Reed and Senator Whitehouse supported in the Senate – a bill that would have protected the middle class? The answer is sadly yes, because Mr. Doherty will be beholden to the Republican Party if he’s elected to Congress.”

Prior says he finds the Democratic accusations about Doherty aligning with millionaires and billionaires ironic, “since Brendan is the only person in this race who is not a millionaire.”